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Update: Dude, You Took My Super Bowl Ring
Says ring for Putin came from heartEFL:Of course it did, Bob. Ending something of a diplomatic mystery, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said yesterday that he was so taken by President Vladimir Putin's affection for his diamond-encrusted 2005 Super Bowl ring that he decided to give it to the Russian leader as a token of ''respect and admiration." How drunk was I? I did WHAT?! ''Upon seeing the ring, President Putin, a great and knowledgeable sports fan, was clearly taken with its uniqueness," Kraft said in a statement. ''At that point, I decided to give him the ring." What the hell. I'm the owner. They'll just make me another one. During a press conference Saturday at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg with other American corporate executives, Kraft showed Putin the 4.94-carat ring. Smiling, Putin tried it on, placed it in his pocket, and soon left. Fire up Ebayski! I get many rubles for this! Moscow pimps will fight over it! Until late yesterday, it wasn't clear whether Kraft had intended for Putin to keep the prized piece of jewelry. The confusion remained on Tuesday, when Kraft was still traveling overseas and hadn't spoken to US media on the matter. But finally Kraft, in the statement issued through a Patriots spokesman, said he had wanted Putin to have the ring. ''I have ancestors from Russia, so it added significance for me to know that something so cherished would reside at the Kremlin along with other special gifts given to Russian presidents," Kraft said. ''It was truly an act of serendipity and one that I am honored to have experienced. It touched me to see President Putin's reaction to the ring, and I felt, emotionally, that it was the right way to conclude an exceptional meeting." Oh, God. I'll never drink again... The reception in Russia may not be so enthusiastic.While there was a time when gifts to Russia's national leader ignited fierce curiosity among the masses, when people would line up for blocks to see an exhibition of the tokens received by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, there was considerably less excitement in Moscow yesterday as word spread that Putin had scored a Super Bowl ring. A woman, who gave only her first name, Olga, for fear of getting in trouble for speaking publicly, said in an interview that gifts to Russian leaders usually are given in an official manner. A report in Kommersant, a Russian business newspaper, had described Kraft's handover as ''shy" and Putin's acceptance as somewhat covert.''Maybe [the Patriots] wanted to enlist Putin as their fan," Olga said. Knowing Bob, Vlad owes him. Big time. One of these days, he'll come by to collect. Under Kraft's ownership, the Patriots have won three of the past four Super Bowls. Each time, the championship ring, which the team helps design, has been glitzier than the last. This year's ring boasts 124 diamonds. Glitzier? Is that French for like, really ugly? Posted by: tu3031 2005-06-30 |
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